annette Mcclelland

The Innovator:

Annette is the CEO and Co-founder of Tekuma, a human-machine interface startup on a mission to improve the ways that humans interact with technology. She has a BA in Communications, an MBA from UTS, and her love of the ocean has led her to become a qualified PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. 

The Innovation: 

Tekuma are actively working to improve the user experience and accuracy of outdated technologies, such as the current two-joystick controller. Annette and her co-founder, Michael Griffin, have designed a single hand operation controller that allows the user to have better control and a hand free. The force-based nature of the orb means movement of the orb spatially correlates to how a user wants to move their device, significantly reducing training time and brain bandwidth when completing tasks vs standard two-joystick interfaces, which has been proven by Michael’s mechatronics engineering thesis. 

Built to be device agnostic it universally controls multiple devices on different communication platforms for various applications - allowing end-users and manufacturers to plug it into existing systems. Current ocean health partners utilise this tech to conduct biosecurity surveillance, maritime maintenance, research sample collection collection, search and rescue, and other ocean exploration activities. The technology can be scaled even further by partnering with organisations already dedicated to improving ocean health.

Why is innovation to transform ocean health so important?

“I became a PADI Advanced Open Water diver over 15 years ago and had the opportunity to explore the Great Barrier Reef as a teenager. I know what I saw then is not as easy to see now and the wonders I experienced are greater at risk. I've observed as we've learnt more about space than the ocean and I appreciate the impact ocean health has on climate change. Therefore ocean health has a follow on effect to the greater health of humanity and our planet.” - Annette McClelland